Worshipper Stabbed With Screwdriver Inside Kiryas Joel Synagogue

By JTA June 17, 2015

A non-Jewish custodian was arrested in the stabbing of a 35-year-old Jewish man inside a synagogue in Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic village in New York State.

Jae Kyung Lee, 56, who works for the haredi Orthodox Charidim Synagogue, allegedly stabbed Eliezer Wolner on Wednesday afternoon, JP Updates reported. A State Police official told JTA that the weapon was a screwdriver.

According to Hudson Valley News 12, New York State Police said Wolner, who was treated for minor wounds, had just finished praying when he was attacked.

Lee, who was charged with assault in the second degree, is in police custody and was expected to face a hearing on Wednesday night.

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